Chapter 1: COMMUNICATING FOR CAREER SUCCESS
Chapter 1: COMMUNICATING FOR CAREER SUCCESS
Author: Tasha Davis, PhD
Author: Tasha Davis, PhD
Zayne accepted a position with a new firm in a different city. He was not only excited for the opportunity to use his degree, he was also looking forward to joining an experienced team. After talking with recruiters about the company, Zayne felt confident this position would give him the chance to grow as a professional.
Almost immediately after beginning his new position, however, Zayne noticed that two of his coworkers seemed too eager to jump in and criticize his work. Yet, he received little to no feedback from his immediate supervisor. At first, Zayne took their feedback as constructive— after all, it was the only feedback he received. Soon, however, he began to feel that many of their comments were mean-spirited and belittling. Even worse, Zayne’s coworkers would often be heard speaking critically about other employees in front of coworkers and customers.
Zayne wondered if he should try to speak with his supervisor or perhaps take his complaints to Human Resources; but at the same time he questioned whether he was overreacting or being too sensitive. What if he lost the trust of his coworkers, or became known as a tattletale? Zayne wasn’t even sure of the appropriate channels to follow to discuss his complaints. He thought to himself, “I don’t even have a good relationship with my supervisor. What could she possibly do to help? Maybe I made a mistake accepting this new position.”
What would you do if you found yourself in Zayne’s situation? There is no correct course of action for Zayne, but you can probably easily identify the complicated issues surrounding Zayne’s experience. Most workers spend the greatest part of their adult lives on the job. Frustration with coworkers and supervisors often makes for unhappiness at work, but perhaps more importantly, can contribute to stress in your nonwork life as well. Beyond the relational challenges that might exist with peers, coworkers, and supervisors, the workplace can be a minefield for misunderstandings, misrepresentations, and complete missteps.
You may be taking this course because it fulfills a requirement in your degree plan or program of study. Perhaps at some point you’ve even identified the need to learn more about effective communication skills in the workplace. Regardless of your reasons, what you will learn in this resource will help prepare you for many of the communication challenges you will face in your career.
This chapter introduces the important role communication has in your personal success in the workplace. Specifically, you will learn the crucial communication skills employees look for in top candidates. You will also gain an understanding of the process and key principles of communication. We will then apply these principles to provide a clear definition of communication competence in the workplace. You will then have an opportunity to explore the changing nature of today’s workplace.
The Importance of Communication
Employees in any organization spend a great deal of their time at work communicating with one another. Research supports the need for communication training as a vital part of keeping an organization running smoothly and building cohesion among employees. An organization’s success and bottom line suffer when relevant ideas are unheard because they are not articulated well. Leaders might also fail to engage employees because they lack the emotional intelligence to deliver constructive feedback. Likewise, when meetings are mismanaged, workers can feel frustrated, disconnected, and disengaged. Communication is at the core of these issues.
Communicating well, so that others understand your meaning, has multiple benefits for both professionals and their workplaces. Test this yourself; conduct a quick online search for “benefits of effective communication,” and you will find many recent articles that identify a variety of positive organizational outcomes related to competent communication such as:
Employee satisfaction
Increased productivity
Effective problem-solving and conflict management
Good customer relations
Communication matters not only to the functioning of an organization, but also for you as a professional. Effective communication consistently ranks as one of the most sought-after skills for today’s workforce. For new college graduates, your effective communication skills can set you apart and help ensure successful entry into your chosen field or profession. In fact, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) ranks communication as one of eight career readiness competencies that prepare the college educated for success in the workplace and lifelong career management (NACE, 2021).
According to NACE (2021), effective communicators successfully demonstrate an ability to clearly exchange information, ideas, facts, and perspectives with persons inside and outside of an organization. The NACE Career Readiness Institute identified the following communication behaviors that successful employees use:
Understand the importance of and demonstrate verbal, written, and nonverbal abilities
Use active listening, persuasion, and influencing skills
Communicate in a clear and organized manner so that others can effectively understand
Frame communication messages with respect to diversity and cultural differences
Ask appropriate questions for specific information from supervisors, specialists, and others
Inform others when needing guidance with assigned tasks
Those who communicate clearly and appropriately are more likely to be heard and respected for their ideas and perspectives. Professionals who demonstrate effective communication skills are also sought after for promotions and projects. As much as we might like to think of communication as a natural process, communication competence is a skill that must be learned and practiced. As you can see, the success of both you and the organization can depend on it.